North Coast Le Merle

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Fort Bragg, California USA

Bottle. Pours hazy and cloudy yellow with a fizzy/foamy white head. Aroma of Belgian wangy yeast. Very refreshing flavor with a slight sourness and subtle spice(kind of light for a saison), Belgian wang wheat yeast thing going on, and a little bit of fruit/citrus. While a very enjoyable beer, and an excellent candidate for a session, there are some very good Saisons out there that offer a bit more of everything.

Bottle pint! Had the Silver 2005 anniversay jubilee from Whole Foods, thinking this was a special retiered beer, kinda pricey for a pint. It was an O.K. sasion beer. Poured a glowing golden yellow color with thick foamy head, lasting forever! Lots of carbonation. Medium body with fizzy tasting citrus and wheat taste. Not all that special, expected more.

pours a cloudy gold with mild fizzy head. sweet sour wild yeast aroma, fizzy front spritz palate with sour finish. mild middle and finish, relatively sessionably light.

Three fingers of lather float atop the furiously fizzing blonde ale. The nose is rife with hard-to-identify tropical fruit… kiwi and blueberry are easily pinpointed, but other scents frustrate with their elusiveness or ambiguity. Baby powder, wet canvas, sea salt, ragweed pollen and sumac seed combine with aromatic spice that corresponds to no culinary ingredient I can imagine. Flavorwise, the beer follows a narrower, yet differently directed path: mixed tart citrus, yeast, grass and wheatberries, and muted tastes of peach and mandarin orange. Hot alcohol is prominent. A lively mouthfeel features light body and creaminess, and sharp sandpaper carbonation… “spritzy” sums it up well. The saison tapers to a discordant grapefruity citric/bitter bitter and chalky aftertaste which, as carbonation wanes, trades bubbles for shrieking sourness of near-lambic proportions. Interesting and appropriately rustic, if unfocused and acerbic. Still, this beer craves crusty bread slathered with rich farmhouse butter, and a slab of crumbly sheepsmilk cheese. PS- the label is hideous.

I was a bit underwhelmed by this beer. For some reason I expected the makers of Old Rasputin, Old Stock Ale, and Red Seal to be able to make a little better Saison than this. Nonetheless, it wasn’t bad. It poured a pale, opaque yellow which reminded me of lemonade. Aroma was light, sweet, citrus-y and effervescent. In fact, this beer reminded me a great deal of Sprite or Sierra Mist. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really scratch my beer itch; it just seemed a bit insubstantial and almost in flavor like a shandy or a radler. Mouthfeel was very light and active. Not bad, but I can’t say I’ll be having this again. I got this bottle at Discount Liquor in Milwaukee, and split it with Surly Sober.

Silver Jubilee pours a dark straw color with a frothy white head. Nice medium intense aroma is fruity, yeasty, hoppy. Medium body with an expansive mouthfeel. Good taste of dry malts and herbal hops. Finishes crisp, clean, and dry. A nice belgian style from north coast. 12406

Pours a beautiful cloudy orange haze, that has a bit of a florescent glow to it. Smells yeasty and sweet. Mouth is sweet and very tart. Lemony if i remember correctly. I wasn’t surprised to see this a traditional flanders brew bc It reminds me of a Flemish Sour Ale.

Cloudy orange-gold with good, foamy white head / Floral, banana and spice nose / Medium body, moderately sweet, lively spritz, with good balance of malty body and some hops on the dry finish / Flavors of banana, apple, peach, lemon, coriander, and a touch of funky brett / Another good effort from NC.